Back in the Saddle

The aim of this blog is to take you through my trails and tribulations for being a trainee biker.

Last year, I did my Compulsory Bike Training. For those of you not in the know, all new motorcyle trainees must complete this. It is a day (or in my case a 1 and a half days) course that teaches the basics of bike control. You have to complete the training before you can ride a motorbike on the road, with L plates and it is only valid for 2 years. It is known by its initials as CBT. See http://www.dsa.gov.uk/ for more info.

For a variety of reasons, mainly fitting a new kitchen at the time, I never got round to getting any practice on the Suzuki GS125 I'd aquired from my sister-in-law. So, last night I finally got back in the saddle. My husband took the bike to a local off-road bit of tarmac and I walked round to meet him. As I hadn't been in the rider's seat for over a year, both he and I were concerned that I'd have to go back to basics. Surprisingly, it went pretty well.

I remembered how to take the bike off its stand;
I remembered where the controls were and how to use them;
I remembered to check my mirrors
and even remembered how to change gear and stop.

However, I didn't remember how to dismount. When I tried to get off the bike, I mananged to lose my balance and let the bike fall on top of me. The way it landed, most the the weight was pressing on my ankle. Fortunately, my husband was there to extract me. Not much harm done - a little bruising to both ankle and pride (probably pride more).

Once I was up again and my husband had established I was okay, he thought I'd better climb back on. Apparently, it's a bit like a horse when you fall off. Well, I got back on and he started talking me through how to get off -

Husband: "Stand up"
Me: "I am standing up"
Husband: "Oh"

Now, I'm about 5'3", with short legs, even for my height. My husband is about a foot taller than me...

It reminded us of the Two Ronnies, when in a sketch, Ronnie Corbet (who is about 5' tall) would be asked to stand up, then the person asking would realise he was! But, I digress...

I did manage to dismount successfully the second time. I was well impressed how the training from last years CBT had stayed with me. I also noticed, I seemed to be more comfortable on the bike, but that's probably down to being on my husband's Honda Pan European more often. The story of the view from the pillion seat will follow shortly.